A REFUSE lorry containing about 40 commercial bins worth of recycling was on fire near Wallingford yesterday morning.

Fire crews were confronted with a 'deep seated fire' and because of its severity, the mechanisms used to discharge the compacted waste were damaged, preventing access to the fire inside the lorry.

Using Rescue Service's specialist rescue tender, crews removed the side of the lorry to get to the fire.

Earlier in the day, firefighters were called to a refuse lorry fire in Abingdon. Fortunately it was spotted and extinguished before crews arrived. 

Incident Commander Station Manager Will McPhail said: “The incident near Wallingford was a prolonged and difficult incident, requiring wide variety of specialist cutting equipment and which resulted in a large amount of damage to the refuse lorry.

"I would urge people to check their rubbish prior to putting it in the bin to ensure that only items agreed for collection by their local refuse company are within the waste as some items such as hot ash, cigarettes and batteries can cause incidents like today to occur.”